Seawind resumes testing on its amphib

The certified version flight test aircraft of the Seawind 300C amphibian has rolled out the door to resume testing.

The test Seawind is a conforming article incorporating all the standard equipment scheduled for production, according to company officials.

After the initial test of the aircraft systems, the Seawind will continue ground taxi testing at Saint Jean Airport, where the company’s 82,000-square-foot manufacturing facility is located. Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu is southeast of Montreal, just north of the New York and Vermont border at the northern outflow of Lake Champlain.

After the ground test, the Seawind will be turned over to the Canada National Research Council to install all the flight test instrumentation and to complete the flight test program in Ottawa.

Seawind President Richard Silva said, “Everyone is elated to resume flight testing, and we are looking forward to assembling the next test aircraft for IFR, autopilot, and avionics options. Once we are assured that there will be no changes from flight testing, we intend to start building customer aircraft to reduce the order backlog.”

Silva said, “We now have full comfort and confidence with our flight test team. This is a professional group.”

Flight testing on the amphib was halted after the prototype crashed near Winnipeg, Manitoba, in August 2007, killing test pilot Glenn Holmes. The company was shut down temporarily and Silva spent the last two years raising money to continue the project.

“We have a very loyal customer base. A number of our customers invested in the company, which provided the funding to complete certification. They made it all possible,” Silva said, noting the company has an order backlog of 53 aircraft.